Chapter TwentyNine

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Chapter Twenty-Nine

• Miscellaneous Laboratory Animals
• Part 2

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3
Fish

• Nest materials - sand, gravel rocks, plant
  matter, kidney secretions, mucus cocoons
  mucous-coated air bubbles
• Lay eggs 2 - 3, to millions, some bear live young
• Studies of temperature electrolyte regulation,
  endocrinology, bacterial diseases, behavior,
  genetics water pollution
• rainbow trout - studies of liver cancer
• live-bearing tropical fishes - studies of
  melanomas
• goldfish in neurological vision studies
• Criteria for selecting include availability,
  survivability in aquariums, background or
  amount of baseline information available.

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Fish Handling Restraint

• Identify w/ numbered jaw tags, button tags
  inserted through fins or an operculum, freeze
  branding, fin clipping and pigmentation patterns.
  
• Wild-caught - no mud on gills not injured, no
  damage to protective mucus coat
• Not kept out of water more than a few seconds,
  without equipment to keep their body gills
  moist
• Temperature, pH O2 level of transport water
• should not vary from water taken from.
• Plastic bags Styrofoam boxes for transport
• Shipment requires water oxygenation system.
• Can use anesthetics for long-distance shipment

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(Images) Zebra Fish Equipment
Views of a zebra fish room...
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(Image) Zebra Fish
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Fish Behavior

• Watch out for - food refusal, abnormal posture,
  erratic movements, gulping air at water surface,
  scraping against objects, jumping out of water
  listlessness.
• Some fishes aggressively defend territories
  crowding causes greater aggressiveness.
• Inquisitive mobile
• Behavior changes with reproduction or feeding.
• Interspecies and inter-species fighting occurs.
• Reduce by separating aggressive individuals
  house compatible species w/ similar requirements.

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Fish Husbandry

• Optimal housing easy to clean, or
  self-cleaning, regulation of water composition
  flow rate
• inexpensive, non-corrosive provide adequate
  temperature / O2 control
• Circular tank for continuous swimmers
• For bottom feeders, a large bottom area gt
  important than high water column.
• Some have higher O2 requirements.
• gt surface area allows gt O2 to be absorbed into
  water than deeper vessel of same capacity.

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Fish Husbandry II

• Important considerations chemical and physical
  characteristics of water
• Require certain levels of acidity or alkalinity,
  dissolved O2 , salts, electrolytes, specific
  range of water temp circulation
• Treat chlorine water with sodium thiosulfate or
  hold 24 hours before use.
• allows chlorine to dissipate into air
• Activated carbon used in filter to remove certain
  types of ions or toxins.
• Plumbing fixtures, tanks, pond liners and water
  should not contain or release toxic substances.

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Fish Husbandry III

• Fluorescent lighting for aquariums
• less heat greater control of light spectrum
• Avoid direct sunlight - heat not controlled, nor
  effect on microorganism growth
• Quarantine new arrivals for 3 wks.
• Disinfectants alcohol or potassium permanganate
• Flush tanks well with clean water before
  reintroducing.
• Fish poisoned by small amount of residual soap.
• Species population density tolerances
• 2 rules 1 gm fish per liter or 2.5 centimeters
  of fish per 4 liters of water

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Fish Husbandry IV

• Extract O2 from water through gills highly
  vascularized filaments in gill cavities.
• In aquarium, movement is by bubbling air through
  water.
• Water contains 8 to 11 ppm of O2.
• Lungfishes have accessory air-breathing organs.
• CO2 content of water limits oxygenation - never
  allowed gt 15 ppm.
• Recirculation - - pumping system removes water
  from tank, forces it through filter, cleans water
  mechanically, chemically biologically.
• Recirculated water lessens volume of water used.

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Fish Diet

• Adults usually fed 1x / day.
• Give quantity to allow feeding less than 10 min.
• Siphon or scoop out any food left over.
• Feed young, growing fishes 3x / day.
• Food compounded powder, pellets or flakes, or
  fresh food such as shrimp, brine shrimp, other
  fish, insects or vegetables
• Automatic feeders are available.
• Water temperature O2 impact feeding behavior.
• Sinking pelleted feed for bottom feeders,
  floating pelleted feed for surface feeders,
  slowly sinking flaked food for small fishes

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Ferrets

• Ferret is a mustelid carnivore belongs to family
  Mustelidae with otters, weasels, mink
• Studies on pathology immunology of viral
  diseases, reproduction, control of breeding
  season by day-length change, growth pelt
  cycles.
• dental experimental teratology research,
  testing drugs as alternative to cats

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(Image) Ferret
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Ferret Handling Restraint

• After adjusting, handle without difficulty
  restraint gloves. Females with babies are
  aggressive.
• Hold adult by grasping it behind front
  extremities with 1 hand holding hind legs with
  other hand.
• 1 hand across shoulders, thumb forefinger
  around neck, other fingers around chest behind
  forelimb
• Held by loose skin in back of neck, animal will
  relax simple procedures can be performed.
• Foul-smelling substance may be emitted (not
  sprayed) from scent glands located on either side
  of anus.

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Ferret Sexing Breeding

• Male - hobs weigh 3 - 6 lb.
• Female - jills weigh 1 - 2 lb.
• Lose weight in breeding season gain in fall.
• Testes of immature males are small and firm in
  older males they are longer flabby.
• Male ventrally situated penis as a dogs with
  testicles close to anus.
• Female vulva after estrus - trace of swelling
  wrinkled
• An induced ovulator

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Ferret Husbandry

• Kept in cat or rabbit cage w/ close-fitting door
  narrow bar spaces
• If rabbit cage, lower part of opening inside door
  must be closed with strip of metal to retain
  bedding.
• Top-filled food hopper without cover not
  satisfactory can easily crawl through when
  empty.
• Wood chips an economical bedding.
• Prefer to have a nest box to sleep.
• Feed a commercial ferret diet.

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Chinchillas

• Belongs to same family as guinea pig
• Normal wild color is a smoky blue-gray.
• Nutrition studies, studies of middle inner ear
• Caution in handling because of risk of fur-slip.
• release fur when attacked or frightened
• To pick up, tail is grasped and animal swung onto
  opposite forearm held against handlers body
  where it will usually sit quietly.

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(Image) Chinchilla
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Chinchilla Husbandry

• Adults, especially females , aggressive may
  have to be caged individually.
• commonly maintained in pairs
• Wide variety of caging with solid or mesh bottoms
• mesh is more suitable, since cleaning is easier
• Takes dust bath fur appears matted rough
  without frequent access.
• A pan or box with a mixture of Fullers earth
  white sand placed in pen daily.
• If dust bath is left in pen, there is a perpetual
  cloud of dust in room, as they are active in
  their dusting and grooming habits.

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Chinchilla Diet

• Commercial chinchilla pellets
• long, thin capsules, grasped readily in one
  forepaw
• Grasp food with paws may throw pellets
• Some breeders feed only commercially prepared
  food, giving no hay or greens.
• Other breeders believe that hay is necessary for
  nutritional or behavioral reasons.
• Some believe that best results are obtained by
  using vitamin or protein supplements.

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Woodchucks

• Rodent family
• Used to study hepatitis B, obesity energy
  balance, endocrine metabolism function, central
  nervous system control
• Hibernate, body temp can be as low as 33F
• Studies of heart, kidney metabolic functions at
  low body temp with hibernating woodchucks

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(Images) Woodchucks
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Woodchuck Handling Restraint

• When disturbed, they click their incisors rapidly
  emit sharp barks shrill whistles.
• Handled without difficulty if calm firm
  approach.
• Wear protective gloves at all times.
• Restraint
• Force down by sliding gloved hand over animal,
  immobilize head shoulders with gloved hand,
  grasp base of tail tightly with other hand.
• Lift hind legs remove from cage, carry by tail
• If accustomed to handling, support by gloved hand
  underneath thorax.
• Box with door a hiding place provides
  enrichment
• an easy and less stressful way to transport animal

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Woodchuck Husbandry

• Adults may be housed in standard metal cages
  designed for cats, dogs or rabbits.
• Doors must latch securely. Food water bowls
  cage floors clamped so cannot be pushed or slid
  out.
• Squeeze through any hole large enough for head.
• Raised flooring is preferable to contact bedding,
  as animals kick bedding from cages.
• Adult s can be housed in groups in large
  cages.
• Housing in groups less than 2 may result in food
  monopolization by dominant individuals.
• Adult males must be housed individually.
• Place each male with 1 female mate.

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Woodchuck Diet

• Nutritional requirements unknown.
• Standard zoo diet green veggies, apples
  grains .
• or diet of ground grains peanut soybean meal
• A diet of canned creamed corn, cornmeal, apples,
  cabbage bread has been used
• Commercial rabbit pellets, made into blocks (9 x
  16 mm oval), recently introduced.
• This form reduces spillage, facilitates food
  consumption measurements, forces animal to
  gnaw, helping to keep their incisors at proper
  length.

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Opossums

• The only North American marsupial
• Marsupials s have pouch where young carried.
• Some 90 living species in 11 families found
  mainly in Australia, in South Central America.
• Wild caught North American opossums used.
• Not bred in captivity to develop any special
  strain.
• Experimental studies in developmental biology
• Young born premature (1213 days gestation).
• Used to study fetal development outside uterus.
• Brazilian gray short-tailed is hamster-sized, no
  pouch, carries young on abdomen young readily
  accessible for study.

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Opossum Handling Restraint

• In daytime, fairly sluggish. If tipped from its
  nest box, will stand hissing, mouth open,
  drooling.
• At night, more aggressive active.
• Large powerful jaw muscles
• Heavy leather gloves not complete protection
• To remove, distract it while reaching for tail.
• Prevent toenails from being torn from nail beds
  when lifting from wire bottom cage.
• Flat paddle may be inserted beneath feet while
  exerting tension on tail.
• Continuous, gentle shaking while carried by tail
  to prevent animal from climbing its own tail.

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Opossum Husbandry Diet

• Dog, cat and rabbit cages are suitable.
• Provide a shelf for climbing.
• If in groups, provide nest box for each animal to
  minimize fighting.
• Brazilian opossums can be housed in rat cages.
• Wide range of food in wild insects, earthworms,
  small vertebrates, fruits grass.
• In laboratories they are fed commercially
  prepared dog or cat food,
• wet or dry.

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Armadillos

• Nine-banded included in anteaters sloth group
• Susceptible to leprosy is first unaltered model
  capable of developing form of disease that is
  difficult to treat.
• Important characteristics for research are
• production of monozygous quadruplet young
• simple uterus similar to human
• implantation delay of the blastocysts
• low body temperature of 80 to 97.5F
• ability to build up an oxygen debt
• band patterns on the shell which readily mutate
• primitive immune response

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Armadillo Handling Restraint

• Powerful back legs sharp claws, heavy gloves
  should be used for manual restraint.
• Pick up by sides of carapace or lift by tail
  base.
• Cannot be kept on bare concrete or wire-mesh
  floor - develop sore feet from attempts to dig.
• Commercial polyethylene kennel for shipment of
  animals by air provides inexpensive, sanitizable
  cage only limited space is required.
• Modification required is covering lower half of
  grilled door w/ metal sheet to prevent kicking
  out bedding.

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Armadillo Diet

• In the wild, eat insects.
• Traditional captive diet milk, eggs, chopped
  raw meat can maintain them for long periods.
• Diets based on canned dog or cat food with
  vitamin K and some fruits added.
• To adapt newly captured to laboratory diet, give
  no food for 2 days offer laboratory diet as a
  soupy mixture in place of drinking water.
• will drink this to obtain
• the moisture

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Additional Reading

• Anderson, R.S. and Edney, A.T.B. Practical Animal
  Handling. Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK. 1991.
• Fowler, M.E. Restraint and Handling of Wild and
  Domestic Animals. Iowa State University Press.
  Ames, IA. 1995.
• Fowler, M.E. Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine. W.B.
  Saunders Company, Philadelphia, PA. 1986.
• Fox, J.G. Biology and Diseases of the Ferret. Lea
  and Febiger. 1988.
• Frye, F.L. Biomedical and Surgical Aspects of
  Captive Reptile Husbandry. Veterinary Medicine
  Publishing Company, Edwardsville, KS. 1981.

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Additional Reading

• Hrapkiewicz, Karen, Leticia Medina, and Donald D.
  Holmes. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine An
  Introduction, 2nd Ed. Iowa State University
  Press, Ames, IA. 1997.
• Johnson-Delaney, K. Exotic Companion Medicine
  Handbook for Veterinarians. Wingers Publishing.
  1996.
• Kuehl-Kovarik, C. The Gray Short-tailed Opossum
  A Novel Model for Mammalian Development. Lab
  Animal 24 (6) 1995.
• May, E.B., Bennett, R.O., and Reimschuessel, R.
  The Application of Laboratory Technology to Fish
  as Models in Biomedical Research. Lab Animal,
  May/June, 1987.